Lowe’s reportedly fired an employee in Georgia for attempting to stop shoplifters from taking more than $2,000 worth of merchandise from the store, according to police.
Donna Hansbrough, 68, had been working at Lowe’s in Rincon, Georgia, for 13 years prior to June 25. On that day, the Rincon Police Department (RPD) says that three suspects entered the store and used multiple shopping carts to gather various items of merchandise, totaling $2,101.00 in value, and then exited the store without paying. Hansbrough said she approached one of the shoplifters as they were leaving and asked to see a receipt, but the receipt shown to her was from Walmart.
“And then I saw two more going out. I just lost it, and I grabbed the last one going out. I don’t even know how I got out into the parking lot, I really don’t,” Hansbrough said in an interview with WJCL. “That’s too much merchandise going out. I love that department, I love that store.”
Police say that when Hansbrough grabbed the third shopping cart, one of the suspects hit her in the face three times, ultimating giving her a black eye. The police named three suspects as Takyah Berry, Joseph Berry, and Jarmar Lawton in a post on Facebook, asking for the public to help find Takyah and Joseph Berry. Lawton is reportedly already in custody in the Chatham County detention center.
According to RPD, Hansbrough was fired shortly after the incident because her attempt to stop the robbery violated Lowe’s policy. Lowe’s released a statement after the incident, saying that its policy is primarily focused on the “safety of (its) customers and associates.”
Hansbrough was a well-known figure at the Rincon Lowe’s, with many people reportedly calling her the “the plant lady.” Some of her friends set up a GoFundMe to help alleviate the financial burden while she looks for another job. In the three days since its creation, the fundraiser has already accrued more than $25,000 for Hansbrough.
Hansbrough is not the only person to be fired recently after intervening to stop shoplifters. In May, Lululemon fired two employees from one of its stores in Atlanta for calling the police during a robbery. An employee of a King Scoopers store in Colorado was fired earlier in July for recording people in the act of shoplifting and posting the video on social media.